"I (Heart) Boobies"

I have always been a proponent of the idea that meaning is subjective. The receivers of any message must take into consideration its context, like who sent it, the sender’s intention, or the culture in which the message existed. But when those who are meant to interpret messages must make sweeping judgments based on principal versus context, it’s inevitable that misconstructions will occur.

In the case of Brianna Hawk and Kayla Martinez, their attempt to spread awareness about the nation-wide pandemic of Breast Cancer spurred an extensive litigation from their school district. The two girls wore bracelets with the slogan “I (heart) Boobies) on it, which the school claimed was lewd. So lewd, in fact, that it caused a disruption “with sexual undertones” in the school environment and warranted suspension.

With help from the American Civil Liberties Union, the girls contested the suspension. Although the attempt to regulate the bracelets usage was intended to keep a placid school environment, it was infringing on the students right to peacefully express their interests.

The District solicitor, John Freund, stated: “Middle school is a witch's brew of hormones and curiosity”… the bracelets are "cause-based marketing energized by sexual double-entendres." I was shocked when I read this, because anyone who’s ever played the “that’s-what-she-said” game knows that anything can be considered a double-entendre. To what extend would the school district be willing to take this argument?

Eventually, the 3^rd Circuit Court of Appeals found the bracelets to not be sexual in nature. At a majority vote of 9-5, it was not a clear and unanimous decision in favor of the students, but it did supply a ruling that in this case, the girls should have been praised for the encouragement of awareness rather than reprimanded. ACLU Lawyer Mary Catherine roper stated, “…that’s the kind of speech we want to protect and promote”.

Similar to the “Bong Hits for Jesus” controversy of 2002, there is a lot at stake in school environments, and it is the administrations responsibility to keep the environment safe and conducive to learning. But in this quest, school districts cannot simply cast away the first amendment rights of it’s students.